How To Maintain Your Car During Winter In 10 Easy & Affordable Steps

Winter is fast approaching and it's a time of year that all drivers dread. Plummeting temperatures and countless umbrella days mean the number of breakdowns can more than double throughout winter months. Eek!

Have no fear, you can prepare your car for winter in a few simple steps that don't break the bank, either.

1. Take your car for a free or discounted service

Admit it, you've definitely put off a car service or two. We're all busy, but if your car is due for a service, the worst thing you can do is avoid it.

Instead, look out for any free or discounted 'winter car checks' offers that lots of chain and independent garages in your area will start promoting this time of year. Take advantage of these!

The AA reports that up to half of car problems in winter could have been prevented by regular servicing and maintenance checks. So it definitely pays to check your car before the cold hits.

2. Look for cracks & fix them now

Make sure there are no little cracks in your windows or lights on the car. Although they may be small now, if a crack freezes then water can freeze in them and get into your lights or make the crack even worse.

3. Check your screenwash in your car for winter

Cheap screenwash is great, but will it last you through winter? Make sure your screen wash is suitable for temperatures up to 10 degrees. Sometimes screenwash cannot handle cold temperatures and can freeze in the engine.

If you discover yours isn't suitable, just run the screenwash out and top up again with the correct screenwash before the cold weather hits.

4. Top up on antifreeze in your car for winter

As well as topping up on large bottles of Poundland anti-freeze to keep in your boot, did you know your engine coolant should a 50/50 mix of water and antifreeze?

Lots of people (myself included) top up water during the year so the antifreeze gets dulled and diluted, and then freezes during very cold weather. This can lead to your engine overheating and a very large bill!

Prevent this by filling up your engine coolant with antifreeze as you go so it's ready for your car for winter. Here is my favourite antifreeze.

5. Rubbing alcohol to the rescue for your car for winter

You’ve woken up, you’re in a rush and what’s that? Frost all over the windows! Have no fear, rubbing alcohol is here.

Keep a little spray bottle in your car to help remove any frost on cold winter mornings.

*Air con also demists your windscreen faster than normal heaters.

6. Use the 20p method to check your tyres

This is such a useful tip! Place a 20p coin in a ridge between the tread on your tyres and look at it from a level angle. If you can see most of the outer ring of the coin your tread is too worn down.

If it covers most of the outer ring you should have enough tread left to last through the winter months. Check 3 different areas of each tyre just to make sure your tyres are ready for winter.

8. Melt away your frozen car lock

If your lock starts to freeze up (if you still have a key to open your car) a cigarette or kitchen lighter can melt the ice in it without damaging anything. Free and 100% safe!

9. Invest in a foil windscreen cover

Avoid your screen freezing up in the morning by purchasing a cheap windscreen cover. You can grab these in cheap discount bins in places like Aldi or Lidl, or purchase them online like this one off Amazon. It keeps your screen clean and protected during winter.

10. Run your engine outside for a few minutes every morning

Brrr! If it's very cold you should run your engine for a few minutes before setting off, as driving off when the engine is that cold can damage your engine. Make sure you pull your car out of your garage before doing this, safety first.

So there you have it, no excuses! Make sure you take car of your car this winter. Do you have any tips of your own? Share them below.

Be careful if you do leave your car running on your drive in the morning warming up. If someone notices and it is stolen you may not be covered by your insurance- as leaving it with the doors open, the keys in the ignition and the engine running will be classed as not making enough effort to keep your vehicle secure!

Collette J on January 24, 2017 at 9:51 am

Thanks Nick, that's a very helpful tip! I sit in my car while it's warming up but some people do leave their cars unattended so it's a great point, thanks for sharing :)

Keeping winter emergency kits handy can help the car owners from possible mishaps on the road. Apart from that, they should use common sense while driving and shouldn't be panic suddenly if anything bad happens. Keeping calm would help them to think about some solution that could save them at that time. If there is any issue arising in your vehicle that you can't recognize, it's always a better decision to take it to a reliable automotive shop. They have the advanced diagnostic equipment to detect any issue your car may have.

Stephanie C on July 24, 2017 at 9:41 am

Hi Julie. Thanks a lot for sharing some of your tips - you certainly sound very experienced! :)

Before winter comes hard, the car owners should carry out few preventives on their vehicles to avoid its threat. They should make sure that there is any issue still exist in the vehicle. If the car's tires are all-seasoned, then it's okay otherwise they have to fit special winter tires that ca take on snow and ice on road. The battery should be maintained thoroughly as excess cold can damage it. It is better to remain touch with a professional car technician. He can suggest you few valuable tips when you are in great trouble.

Stephanie C on September 20, 2017 at 2:13 pm

Hi Jeremy. Thanks for highlighting the importance of prepping your car for Winter. It's approaching that time of year again, so this is important to remember!

Hey Collette! You have shared some excellent tips for making the car winter ready. I really appreciate all tips. Still, I would like to share my point of view regarding winter care in the following.
1)Inspect antifreeze on a regular basis to make sure we have the correct combination of antifreeze(water:coolant = 50:50) and it is topped off regularly before the vehicle leaving us on the highway.
2)Keep the battery terminals clean and check its charging rate to make sure the battery is in tip-top shape.
3)Make sure all the wires of the spark plug are properly connected to avoid starting trouble.
4)Change engine oil before the arrival of winter.
5)Hire a car professional to perform the top to bottom inspection to make sure the vehicle is ready for the winter challenges.

Stephanie C on November 9, 2017 at 10:00 am

Hi James,
I'm glad you enjoyed our tips. Yours are also really useful, especially the antifreeze. The amount of times I've run low on a journey!! Thanks for sharing :)

Great article! loved all your tips. I am gonna try a couple of them, let's hope they work out. My winter will get super easy.
Also, do you have any wiper tips? It gets really hard to use the wipers in cold.